After we’ve emerged from government-mandated lockdown, our appetite for human company – as well as a high-quality, shared dining experience, is likely to be near insatiable. If you’ve never hosted a dinner party before, then you might wonder where to start. If you’re used to hosting them regularly, then this period of enforced solitude might have been completely maddening. Whatever your level of experience, there’s going to be no better way to celebrate your new surroundings than with the help of a well-executed dinner party.
But exactly how might you go about doing so? Let’s look at a few simple steps.
Choose a theme
Deciding upon a theme should be among the first steps you take when planning your party. It’ll inform just about every decision you make. You needn’t go too wacky. But basing your evening around a certain core idea will help to tie everything together – and it’ll provide inspiration, too.
Plan your Menu
Of course, your menu is the most important part of your evening. Without a good menu, you can’t have a good dinner party. But what constitutes a good menu isn’t necessarily a selection of amazing dishes. They should be painless to cook for five or six people, and they should be easy to heat up just prior to serving. Don’t forget to tie everything to your theme, and include drinks in your planning.
When it comes to pairing wines with meats, a good rule of thumb is that the more fat there is in the dish, the more tannin you’ll need to cut through. So, hearty slow-cooked stews match nicely with heavy reds; delicate cuts of white fish need a lighter white wine.
Don’t neglect the vegetarian and vegan options, if your guests are so-inclined.
Make sure you have room
If everyone’s crammed around a table that isn’t really big enough, then you might find that things get a little bit irritating. Spillages are more likely, and there’s such a thing as too much intimacy, particularly if you’re inviting people over who aren’t yet acquainted. There’s a simple way to tackle this problem – invite fewer people. If you’re starting with a small group, you’ll find that the entire thing is a great deal more manageable.
Invest in quality crockery and cutlery
Your dinner party is an opportunity to open up the sideboard and break out the finest knives, forks, plates and dishes available. This is a time where practicality can be set aside for an evening, and everyone can be treated to the best that’s on offer.
